c 


>>^  ; 


"  SENATE,    Maj   13,  18«4,— Ordered  to  be  laid  upon  the  table  «nd 
printed. 

[By  Mr.  Brow.i.  1 


«     RESOLUTION'S 

Of  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Jdissimppi  in  Relntion  to  the  Rtcent  AH 
of  the  Congerss  (f  the  Confederate  States  Suspending  the  Privilege  of  th 
vmt  6f  Habeas  Corpus. 

• 

Whereas,  The  writ  of  habeas,  corpus  is  the  great  prerogative  writ  of 
the  American  people,  distinguishing  a  free  and  constitutional  govern- 
ment from  an  absolute  despotism ;  and  whereas,  without  it  the  liliert y 
and  the  personal  rights  of  the  citizen  nro  without  sanction,  and  their 
violation  without  remedy  ;  and  whereas  this  great  privileges  of  Amer- 
ican citizen?  was  inheriteil  by  them  from  their  ancestors,  and  wa> 
held  and  exercised  by  them  before  the  establishment  of  any  of  the 
consUtutions  of  the  American  States,  after  a  long  and  arduous  strug- 
gle of  five  hundred  vears*  duration  against  the  adherents  of  arbitrary 
power  ;  a«id  whereas  it  is  declared  in  the  Constitution  of  the  Oonftd- 
erate  States,  and  in  that  of  the  State  of  Mississippi,  that  the  privilege 
of  the  writ  of  Jtabeas  corpus  shall  jiot  be  suspended  unless  when  in 
cases  of  rebellion  or  invasion  the  public  safety  may  require  it ;  and 
whereas  it  is  also  declared  in  said  constitutions  that  "  the  right  of 
the  people  to  be  secure  in  their  persons,  houses,  papers  and  effects, 
against  unreasonable  searches  and  seizures,  shall  not  be  violated,  and 
no  warrant  i4ia  11  issue  but  upon  probable  cause,  supported  by  oath  »*r 
affirmation,  and  particularly  describiug  the  place  to  be  searched,  and  the 
persons  or  things  to  be  seized,"  thereby  intending  to  guarantee  to  the 
American  citizen  the  inalienable  right,  derived  from  the  common  law, 
and  inherited  from  his  English  ancestors,  to  be  secure  from  arrest 
except  upon  warrant*  specifying  the  offence,  and  on  probable  cause, 
supported  by  oath  olRffirmation  ;  and  whereas,  on  the  15th  of  Feb- 
ruary last,  the  Congress  of  the  Confederate  States  did  pass  an  act 
"  that  during  the  present  invasion  of  the  Confederate  States,  the 
privilege  of  the  writ  of  hnbcas  corpus  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  sus- 
pended in  cases  of  persons  arrested  or  detained  by  order  of  the  Pre!?idcnt 
or  Secretary  ot  War,  or  General  officer  commanding  the  trans-Mis- 
sissippi de])artuient,  by  the  authority  and  under  the  control  of  the 
President,"  which  suspension  extended  to  arrests  or  detentions  in  a 
large  number  of  cases  embraced  in  said  act,  in  many  of  ^hich  no 
specific  crime  is  named  :  and  whereas,  by  one  of  the  provisions  of  said 
act.  it    }<i  dedar-^d  '*  that  the   President  shall  cause  proper  officers  to 


invcBtigate  iho  cases  of  all  personB  8C -RiTCSted  or  'leiained,  in  order 
that  they  xany  V»e  discharf^ed,  if  improperly  detained,  unless  they  can 
be  speedily  tried  in  the  due  course  of  law,"  thus  placing  it  in  the 
power  (Jf  the  President  of  the  Confederate  States  to  confer  on  military 
tribunals,  holding  their  appointments  at  his  will,  and  responsible  only 
to  him,  to  determine  upon  the  rights  and  liberties  of  the  citizen,  in- 
stead of  leaving  it  to  independent  judicial  tribunals  of  the  country  in 
which  alone  the  constitution  and  laws  have. reposed  that  power,  thus 
evincing  a  jealousy  of  the  civil  power,  which,  in  the  opinion  of  this 
Legislature,  is  not  justified  by  the  circumstances;  and  whereas,  in 
the  opinion  of  this  Legislature,-  the  power  of  Congress,  implied  rather 
than  granted  in  the  Constitution  of  the  Confederate  States,  to  suspend 
the  privilege  of  the  writ  of  luiheas  corpm,  did  not,  and  was  noflfintended 
to  Qonfer  upon  Congress  the  power  to  authorize  the  arrest  or  deten- 
tion of  the  citizen  without  warrant  and  without  probable* cause,  sup- 
ported by  oath  or  afhrmation,  upon  the  mere  order  of  an  Executive  or 
military  officer,  but  was  intended  only  to  apply  to  cases  where  the 
person  of  such  citizen^was  held  in  custody  under  a  legal  and  consti- 
tutional arrest ;  therefore, 

Be  it  Resolved  by  the  Legislature  of  Mississ^ippi,  That  the  act  of 
<Jongress  suspending  the  privilege  of  the  wi'it  of  habeas  corpus  is 
dangerous  to  the  liberty  of  the  citizen,  unconstitutional  m  some  of 
its  features,  tends  to  make  the  civil  power  subordinate  to  the  military, 
and  establishes  a  precedent  of  a  doubtful  and  dangerous  character, 
and  should  be  repealed. 

Be  it  further  resolved.  That  the  Senators  of  the  State  of  Mississippi 
in  Congress  be  instructed,  and  the  Representatives  bo  requeste'd  to 
take  the  necessary  action  to  secure  the  repeal  of  said  a^t  at  the 
earliest  possible  period ;  and  if  the  same  is  not  repealed,  the  said 
Senatbrs  are  instructed,  and  Representatives  requested,  to  vote 
against  the 'further  suspension  of  said  privilege ;  and  the  governor  of 
the  State  is  hereby  directed  to  transmit  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  to 
the  Senators  and  Representatives  in  Congress. 

Be  it  further  resolved,  That  in  the  adoption  of  these  resolutions,  it 
is.  not  the  intention  of  the  Legislature  to  impute  to  the  President  of 
the  Confederate  States  any  desire  to  arrogate  to  himself  more  power 
than  the  Constitution  has  conferred,  and  that  in  the  opinion  of  this 
Legislnture,  it  is  the  duty  of  every  patriotic  citizen  to  uphold  and 
maintain  the  said  Presiilentof  the  Confederate  States  in  the  legitimate 
exercise  of  the  constitutional  powers  conferred  on  him. 
AppRovF.i),  April  6,  1864.  W' 


